Forward to the 90s: why are criminal authorities being released in Moldova
A loud scandal broke out in Moldova over the amnesty, which allowed dangerous criminals sentenced to life in prison to be released. Among them is the leader of a large organized criminal group, Yuri Radulov, who immediately fled the country after his release from prison. The opposition says that the authorities are deliberately escalating the situation before the key parliamentary elections. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
Killers on parole
A major scandal broke out in Moldova over the amnesty of violent criminals. It suddenly became clear that back in 2021, legislative amendments were adopted in the country, which allow replacing life imprisonment with imprisonment for a period of 30 years. Further, the legislation introduced a provision stating that a convicted person, subject to a number of conditions, can be released on parole if he has served two thirds of his term, that is, he has served 20 years.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu
Interestingly, all these innovations were prepared by the deputy from the ruling party Olesya Stamate, the amendments were approved by Parliament and the legal department of the presidential administration, in the end they were approved by the head of state Maia Sandu. "The bill is aimed at the reintegration of convicts, compensation for damage caused by poor conditions of detention, as well as reducing the number of prisoners," said Veronika Roska, Vice—chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Legal Affairs.
This spring, the authorities decided to violently celebrate the anniversary of the riots that took place in Chisinau in April 2009, as a result of those events, representatives of pro-European forces took senior positions in the country. As a result, the amnesty and those legislative amendments extended to several well-known criminal authorities. So, the leader of the organized criminal group Yuzhnaya, Alexander Sinegur (nickname Blue), who terrorized Moldova and southern Ukraine in the 1990s, was released. The man was sentenced to life in prison for murder, banditry, kidnapping, blackmail and racketeering, served a total of 21 years, and has now been released on parole, although he was quickly re-arrested.
Another authority, Yuri Radulov (alias Beaver), who in the 90s was the leader of a group of killers who organized 10 contract killings and 11 attempted murders, was also released. The man served 25 years, promised during the parole review that he would not disappoint justice, and immediately left Moldova after his release.
Against this background, new details of the ongoing amnesty have emerged. The head of the Moldovan police, Viorel Cerneucanu, said that over the past year, seven lifers have been released, and another 21 people have received a reduced sentence. "The vast majority of such prisoners were members of criminal gangs. Some of these organized criminal groups continue their activities to this day. I do not believe in one hundred percent re—education of a person who has committed two or more murders," he said.
"It went like a conveyor belt"
A major scandal broke out in Moldova in this regard. The ruling party blamed deputy Olesya Stamate, who was one of the authors of the legislative changes, for the incident. "As a result of the abuse of trust, we voted for the law, which was amended by a colleague, a specialist in this field, whose integrity was not questioned at that time. We are aware of the serious consequences of this scheme," said Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu.
Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosu
The ruling party eventually announced that they were expelling Stamate from their ranks and demanding that she resign her parliamentary mandate. At the same time, information appeared on social networks that the parliamentarian's father works as a lawyer and defended the interests of several life convicts, that is, in this case, there may be a corruption component. The deputy herself denied all the accusations. According to her, the bill had 10 co-authors, the blame is shifted to her for political reasons.
Then, in the Moldovan parliament, a document was adopted in two readings at once, which clarifies the law on amnesty. These amendments state that life-long convicts will not be able to achieve both mitigation of punishment and parole, they will have to serve the appointed term in full. It is also emphasized that these provisions will apply to those who tried to change their status under the amnesty of 2021. At the same time, some lawyers stated that such a rule violates the basic principle of jurisprudence, which states that the law is not retroactive.
This was also stated by MP Igor Kiriak, who said that the new rules cannot apply to those convicts for whom a mitigation procedure has already been launched. As a result, the Prosecutor General's Office appealed to the Constitutional Court for clarification, which decided to freeze the amnesty law until further clarification. Against this background, Anatoly Falka, head of the National Administration of Penitentiary Institutions, resigned.
At the same time, the opposition says that this is not an accidental mistake, but a well-thought-out policy, which was prevented only by a wave of public outrage. Lawyer Fulga Grabovskaya said that the case was not without large-scale corruption. According to her, security forces and officials received $4 million for the release of one lifer. "I can give you all the names, surnames and positions.… In March, the mechanism was already launched, and it went like a conveyor belt," she said.
In turn, former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat noted that this story demonstrates the complete incompetence of the current authorities. "The PAS deputies voted for the amendments, they were approved by the presidential administration and a number of other structures. In the end, President Sandu signed it. What are all these people doing? Do they even read the documents that are brought to them? Over time, we will find out how many such idiotic laws they have adopted over the years of their rule," he said indignantly.
What the experts say
Moldovan political scientist Alexander Korinenko claims that the country's authorities have shown their complete incompetence.
— Usually, patients with severe diagnoses or mothers with young children receive an amnesty. We are talking about repeat offenders who have committed murders, racketeering, and robberies. I do not think that in this case we are talking about malicious intent, it would be too much for the Moldovan authorities. Most likely, we just see a disregard for our duties. These people pass laws without reading them, sign them without looking at them. This is a complete degradation of government institutions," he emphasizes.
Moldovan political scientist Corneliu Ciurea believes that simple incompetence cannot explain the behavior of officials.
— I am sure that in this case there was corruption at the very top, after all, these are too serious decisions, no one will just release those sentenced to life. So far, two figures have become victims — Deputy Stamate and the head of the penitentiary system, but the next in line is the Minister of Justice [Veronica Mikhailova-Moraru], and many people are waiting for her resignation. In any case, this whole story creates a very negative background, and parliamentary elections will be held in the country this year. I think the ruling party still doesn't understand what the consequences might be," he argues.
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